


Together we stand (alone we fall)

by AnimeBooks13



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Anne W, Chris Kyle (OC), Dan the doctor, Depressing backstories cause created by three teens, Eddie Brock - Freeform, Eddie and Venom are practically dads, F/M, Inspired by Venom (Movie 2018), Killer symbiote, Kythe Cat (OC), M/M, OCs - Freeform, Post-Venom (Movie 2018), Ruth Mora (OC), Scream symbiote - Freeform, Toxin symbiote - Freeform, Venom (Movie 2018) Spoilers, Venom 2018, Who am i kidding--there's a lot of emotional stuff, some emotional stuff, venom - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-11 05:53:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16469999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnimeBooks13/pseuds/AnimeBooks13
Summary: The life of a Symbiote Host has never been easy, and Eddie Brock learns this the hard way once three more join his life, followed by a supernatural disaster. However, these three new kids may not be the monsters they look to be.(Also available on Wattpad)





	1. We See

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Friends](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Friends).



> Okay! So this story was created by me, but I was only in charge of creating Ruth Mora because this story was also made with two of my best friends. We're a little Venom obsessed, okay? XD. Anyway, I wanna give credit where it's due, so, this story was physically written by me, but was modified, written, and created by me, Gavin, and Kiera. Thank you two so much for how much fun this is going to be.

"What does Peter Parker say when someone asks him what he does for work?" Chris asked, the third pun he'd said that afternoon.  
Next to him, his sister, Ruth, rolled her eyes. Another action that had been repeated multiple times. "What?" She asked. "That he's a goblin slayer?" Her own attempt at a joke made her smirk, causing the somehow older male to grin wildly from his side of the bench. Ruth always found her brothers interesting, and in some instances, was grateful they weren't biologically related.  
First there was Chris, comic book obsessed and the self proclaimed pun-lord. He was a good guy, smart and terrifyingly fast. He was also very annoying when it was just the two of them. Judging by his light blonde hair and green eyes, one would never be able to tell that he could be annoying. At least from a distance.   
Then there was her older brother, Kythe. While Ruth herself was thirteen, and Chris was the ripe old age of seventeen, Kythe was nineteen years old. Kythe was the more serious one of the three, and was extremely overprotective. In fact, based on past behaviors, Chris and Ruth even managed to make an appropriate nickname for him; Mama Kythe. Though he was a bit controlling, Ruth loved him, and his never ending rants bout why he wasn't going to cut his hair, apparently it was fine brushing his shoulders. Regardless of everything that she could think about, Ruth loved them both, and only them.  
She took a bite of her cookie as Chris continued. "He tells them that he's a web designer!" Like the child he was, he started laughing at his own joke, almost dropping the subway sandwich balancing on his lap. The two were waiting for Kythe to come back from the grocery store. Since neither Chris nor Ruth wanted to wait for Kythe to find the least-beat-up lime, they had decided to order themselves (and Kythe) some lunch. They'd migrated from the sandwich shop to one of San Francisco's lovely parks. It was lovely mostly just because the bench hadn't been occupied by someone's personal belongings when they arrived.  
It was Saturday, so no passing police officers would question why they weren't in school, like they usually did. Ruth would even go as far as saying that it felt like the perfect day. They'd managed to pay their first month of San Francisco rent, Chris had gotten a little extra cash by winning a foot race, and Kythe was going to make his famous Ice Burn Avocado soup. Ruth was thankful for the normality of the moment. Their lives weren't very normal often.  
Chris's phone buzzed, so he had to stop cackling in order to read it. He relayed what was on the screen to Ruth. "Kythe says he's almost done, think he's gonna melt our faces off, Ruthy?" Chris had a habit of both wiggling his fingers randomly and calling her Ruthy, both of which had just been done. Nobody around them seemed to notice her discomfort, not that anyone aside from Chris even acknowledged her. Others were too busy walking by with family and friends, dogs even. Yummy, a voice said inside her head, a lot deeper and more homicidal sounding than her own. She shifted suddenly, very aware that the target of the remark was a little white poodle. That's just gross, no. She thought back.  
"What's just gross?" Chris asked, wiping away some mustard that had made a home on his upper lip. The poodle had managed to make its way down the street without becoming anybody's lunch, the owner having no idea what almost happened. Ruth sighed, giving a subtle point with her thumb towards the animal, her other hand pinching the bridge of her nose. She watched as Chris followed her thumb and nodded, not bothering to move when he leaned in close.   
"Scream," His voice was deeper too, nothing like the normal high pitched squeak you heard when Chris spoke. She barley gave him a once over when she saw his eyes had filmed over, there was no need for panic, she knew exactly who was speaking and whom it was speaking to. "We've been over this, we do not eat poor defenseless animals, especially dogs." Another woman in a track suit jogged past, sending a more than confused look their way. Chris backed up again, his eyes returning to their freakishly green color. His face looked like he had bit into a lemon, and he sounded bitter when he spoke next, really Chris this time.   
"Yeah right, where was that rule with Cherry?" He barley muttered it, but just enough for Ruth to hear. She shook her head, mentally scolding the other for even suggesting eating a dog around Chris.   
They ate their food in silence for a while after that, all four of them sitting awkwardly on a park bench waiting for Kythe. Ruth couldn't tell how many minutes went by before something interesting happened. She cursed that she even found it interesting, the Saturday had been going good. But the sound of a woman shrieking ripped through the still air like a serrated knife. Ruth and Chris snapped their heads towards the noise and watched as a woman dressed as if she were going on a very important date ran out of a nearby bush, mascara running, hair a mess, a screeching screaming mess. She tripped over her high heels and threw her purse at the ground like that would make her go faster. While that itself was very amusing, their real fun was what emerged behind her.  
A large symbiote burst through the bushes, crushing them completely. It's host was buried somewhere underneath layers of moving dark blue goo, random spikes shooting out of its back like spider legs. The symbiote's jaw had been unhinged, it's long and slimy pink tongue curling at the tip. It looked around as if it was confused, and due to the many horrified screams it had caused, it probably was. It looked like a kid in a candy store, so many snacks, not enough money. Or teeth in this situation. It finally seemed to make up its mind, choosing to bound towards a picnicked family trying to scramble away.   
Ruth and Chris got to their feet, ready to transform if need be. You need it, sugar. Scream replied, much to Ruth's annoyance. Whether Chris's deeper voice, Toxin, was saying the same to him, she couldn't tell. The symbiote was advancing on the family, the mother had to go back for an important item that apparently cost her life. The woman that had been followed by the alien was long gone, and Ruth suspected she might be on her way to the police, which didn't leave them a lot of time to straighten out the mess. Humans weren't used to seeing symbiotes, there would be a lot more buzz if they had.   
"Who is that?" Chris asked, but not to her. Now that most of the park had been evacuated, a tendril of inky dark red worked its way from his palm to his shoulder, solidifying into a head shaped blob with white eyes and very sharp teeth. Toxin twisted around his shoulder as if to get a better view.   
"ZZZXX," He said deeply, flicking his attention back to Chris. "I didn't know he was on Earth."  
Ruth would have asked for a second opinion, but she had really hoped to keep Scream inside today. She was smart enough, however, to realize that if 'ZZZXX' ran ramped, she would have no choice. She scrunched her nose and looked over at Toxin. "ZZZXXX?" She repeated. "Okay, even for a symbiote name, that's a weird one."   
Toxin retreated back inside of Chris's shoulder, no doubt relaying some insanely complicated battle strategy into her brother's head. Scream and she didn't really ever have a battle strategy, they didn't really agree on anything to have. ZZZXX was getting closer to the mother, sadly the only one left in the park other than themselves. Ruth shook her head, why did people always have to leave at least one member of their family behind without realizing? Chris rolled his shoulders from next to her. "We should really tell Kythe," he said. "But I think this calls for immediate action."   
Ruth nodded, and was just about to ask for some unwanted assistance when another ear striking roar tore through the air. Her head whipped to the right so fast it almost giving her whiplash. The sun was momentarily blocked by a large shape, which crashed into the ground with a tremendous thud in front of them. Ruth couldn't believe her eyes, another symbiote.  
This one was all black, except for the two disturbingly white eyes and white teeth. The symbiote looked over at Chris and Ruth as if it were studying them. "What are you two still doing here?" It asked, it's voice even more gravely than another symbiote Ruth knew, Kythe's had an extremely deep voice, but nothing on this guy.   
He looked confused for a moment, as confused as his facial features allowed. He might have said more about it, but when the woman in the distance screamed again, the symbiote dropped it. "Leave." They instructed before taking off in the direction of ZZZXX.   
Chris looked at her, then back to the black symbiote. Ruth looked down towards her own body, hoping once again that she was looking in the somewhat correct direction of her partner. "Who was that?" She asked Scream, but for once in her life (most likely), Scream remained silent. She may have muttered something from inside Ruth's brain, but it was too quiet to make out. Normally she would pry more out of her symbiote, but she found herself a bit distracted.  
ZZZXX took a swing at the new symbiote, claws slashing through the air. It looked like the hit would connect with the black symbiote, but the dodge was so quick Ruth almost didn't see it. ZZZXX leapt over the symbiote and rolled past them, hissing before attempting another hit. The two took their time of attempting to claw each other's gooey eyes out, rushing in front and behind of each other like their claws were swords.   
The battle went on for what felt like hours but couldn't be more than ten minutes. Ruth and Chris both stood awestruck from their place at the bench while ZZZXX and the unknown symbiote slashed at each other's being. From where she stood, Ruth could vaguely hear some verbal exchange, not a lot and much of it didn't make sense. She thought she heard the black one say 'Touchdown' after sending ZZZXX's head into the dirt. From his ostrich position, ZZZXX screeched, he sounded like a defective dentist's drill.   
Using his legs he scrambled back, yelling angrily in the other symbiotes face. This seemed to offend it greatly, causing it to lean forward and repay old XX with a scream of his own, only about five times louder. ZZZXX backed up and looked around as if he was considering backing down. Faster than anything he'd done before he changed his mind and swung a full hand of claws straight into the black symbiote's abdomen. Ruth doubted it would hurt the symbiote more than it would hurt the host, something they'd have to sort out later.   
The black symbiote howled in rage before lunging forward, ripping out the claw as he slashed out. ZZZXX was pinned under him, and Ruth felt an odd churning in her stomach she was certain wasn't from the sandwich . Chris must have felt the same because a moment later he muttered "Toxin? What's wrong?" Normally he would have put more concern into it, but it was obvious how engrossed he was in the fight. A moment later it was obvious why the symbiotes had started to act up. The faint sound of sirens getting closer in the distance made their way to Ruth's ears.   
Chris looked at her completely this time, grabbing the bag that held Kythe's lunch inside. He leaned forward and grabbed her wrist, glancing left and right. "We gotta go," he said. "Try to find Kythe." He tried to pull her along, yanking hard on her wrist when her feet stayed planted. She didn't want to leave without knowing what would happen, more importantly why there were more symbiotes on Earth.   
"We gotta do something, that's what we've gotta do!" She insisted, trying to level with her levelheaded brother. The sirens were getting closer, and police meant bad news for the both of them. She looked behind her to see if she could spot Kythe, that way they could stay a little longer and still have a quick get away. Chris snorted a laugh and gave her wrist another yank.   
"Like what?" He asked. "Look, there are officers coming, and this is practically screams attention from the officers, look at th--" He gestured over to the symbiote fight, and stopped midsentence to frown. The black symbiote was still there, towering a now terrified looking man. The man was in a suit, most likely the woman's date, and most likely ZZZXX. Where the actual symbiote was, Ruth didn't know, but the man squirmed uneasily between the remaining symbiote's claws.  
It was talking again, too far away for Ruth to hear, but whatever it was saying seemed to shut up ZZZXX. If the symbiote were Scream, Ruth knew that the man would be dead by now, no matter what she said.   
The black symbiote wrapped its fist around the man's neck and raised him to about eye level. This time everything that was verbally exchanged had been quieted to hushed whispers. The man squirmed in the symbiote's grasp, mouth moving without any sound coming out. All Ruth could hear were the sirens getting closer, about a block away now.   
"Ruth." Chris warned, but still didn't look at her. They both watched the symbiote drop the man and turn around, heading towards the broken bushes. Ruth looked back to Chris, changing the grip so she was pulling him along.   
"Text Kythe," She said, pulling him quickly in the direction the symbiote had gone. "Tell him we found something and we're checking it out."   
Chris jerked his wrist back, but they were already halfway through the park. "Why?" He asked. "What good would it be to find someone that has the ability to kill all four of us? What good does that do us?" Chris wasn't normally squeamish, he was actually a pretty reckless person. Though it sounded more like he was quoting Kythe, and he had a point that she understood, it also made sense to go check this out. It wasn't everyday you learn that there are more symbiotes out there. For better or worse.   
"Chris," She started. The symbiote was growing smaller in the distance, and their time to follow and learn was short. "We have no ide when we'll have the chance to gain an ally again. Let's not blow it, please." She flashed her last playing card, a nice set of big, brown puppy dog eyes. She resisted the urge to smirk when she saw Chris's struggling expression.   
He sighed in exasperation. "Fine, put those things away and start running." Chris took out his phone and pulled up Kythe's contact information. Ruth decided to this would be a good time to book it, dragging her brother along with her all the way.   
A perk to having a symbiote was that it increased the working functions many things inside of her, including her speed. That way she could keep up with her much taller, much faster running partner.   
After dashing through the demolished shrubbery they'd looked around from side to side. People walked around like nothing had happened, which was surprising because surely they'd at least see the symbiote host barrel through the gap. Ruth was about to curse, they'd lost him. Just then Chris grabbed her arm and pointed at the concreate. Small drops of red dotted the ground going left. "Didn't the black one get stabbed in the abdomen?" He asked her. "That'd take a moment to heal." Ruth understood what he was saying.  
She nodded and started following the blood. The two of them shoved by some loiterers, ignoring their annoyed shouts of protest as they ran forward. The amount pf blood was getting less and less, and more distant from one another. Can't you like, sniff him out? Ruth thought, annoyed. No dear, I'm not a bloodhound. She knew why Scream was bitter, she was asking her help, without actually asking for her help.   
Chris ran beside her as he filled Kythe in, and from the sounds of it, Mama wasn't pleased from his end of the phone. Chris had hung up abruptly, no doubt noticing the same thing that Ruth did, that their little chase had left them in a relatively empty street. It felt like somewhere kids went to get stabbed. Closed stores and crappy apartment buildings lined both sides of the street, a few cars zipping by accompanied by the occasional yelling beggar. She put her focus back on the ground, the blood trail had stopped unexpectedly, and Ruth just about lost hope.  
"C'mon, Chris," She said; defeated. "Let's just go find Kythe." She started to walk away when Chris caught her elbow. She frowned and followed his pointed finger to what looked like the wall of another bricked building. However, if she looked closely, she could see the edge of an old gate too open to be normal, like someone had flung it open. This obviously lead to an ally way.  
Chris put a finger to his lips and slowly stalked over to the gate, Ruth right behind him. The closer they got to the end of their "stealth wall", they could start to hear voices talking to each other. One was extremely deep and intimidating, and the other sounded vaguely familiar. She couldn't place her finger on where she'd heard it though.   
The two of them peered their heads over the corner, confirming their suspicion. The black symbiote was spooling from the back of its host and had positioned itself in front of the man's face. He wore a dark blue button up, black jeans, and had one hand on his gut. He was talking in a hushed whisper. "...can't make a public appearance like that again." He was saying. "You have no idea what kinds of people were out there today."  
The symbiote curled around the man's neck like a slimy (gooey?) boa. The voice was definitely familiar and it was going to drive Ruth insane that she couldn't place it. She wished she could see his face, maybe that way her brain would pair face to voice. In the slightly darkened ally, the white eyes were the only way she could see the swaying movements that the symbiote was making, well, the eyes and the teeth. "I was carful," It justified. "and because I was carful, you owe me lunch." The host nodded to the request, shrugging his shoulders.   
Ruth had hoped he would turn around, maybe even walk towards them, but that wasn't the case. He kept his back to them and the symbiote retreated back inside his body. Ruth and Chris pressed their backs to the wall, as not to be seen. They could hear the sound of the man grunting, and a creaking from the wooden gate at the end of the ally. The two stayed there for another minute or so, until they heard the sound of a motorcycle engine fade, assuming it was the host, then they broke from the wall.  
Ruth immediately started pacing. "Who was that?" She asked aloud. "It's on the tip of my tongue!" This went on for a couple of minutes, she ranted many other things about the subject until she noticed that her brother had gone completely still. "What's wrong with you?"  
Chris didn't answer for a few seconds, and blinked hard when he did. "That was Eddie Brock." His voice sounded dry.   
"Eddie Brock? Like from 'The Brock Report'?"  
"Mmhmm." Chris hummed. Ruth looked at the end of the ally. Kythe, herself and Chris had adored watching Eddie Brock take down rich jerkbags on TV, and were all three very bitter when the show got canceled because of Carlton Drake. She hadn't heard anything about him for about a year, and it seemed strange that now that she was seeing him again (and not through a screen) he had an alien bonded to him. She looked back at Chris, whom was still wide-eyed.  
Making an executive decision she snatched the phone from the gaping boy's hoodie pocket and logged in the password. "What are you doing?" He finally asked once Ruth had got the phone ringing.  
"I'm telling Kythe," she said. "Eddie Brock's got a symbiote."


	2. We Meet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Making an executive decision she snatched the phone from the gaping boy's hoodie pocket and logged in the password. "What are you doing?" He finally asked once Ruth had got the phone ringing.
> 
> "I'm telling Kythe," she said. "Eddie Brock's got a symbiote."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter felt kind of slow, but don't worry, everything is sure as hell not gonna go slow after this, believe you freaking me XD. OH! And (cause I know he's gonna read this) Trash Panda, you're the best coauthor rambler of all time, more than 50% of this story is brought on by lunch time periods spent eating tatertots and getting handcramps XD, thanks dude!

Kythe was buying limes, limes of all things. He'd stood in the express lane of a Smart Final with two bags of limes and three avocados. He had looked normal, tried to feel normal, but that wasn't enough to convince his companion. The lady in front of him had gone up to pay when the familiar hum of his partner, Killer, reverberated inside his skull. You are worried, The symbiote so expertly observed. Why?   
Kythe had sighed quietly, he'd hoped that the express line would have been faster, but he'd been wrong. He'd pulled the volume bar of his earbuds closer to his lips, not wanting anyone around to think he was insane. "Of course I'm worried," he replied. "Chris and Ruth are sitting in a public park, without any supervision, with each other, and I'm afraid I'll find two dead bodies when I come back because of it, but that's not all. On top of that, the cops around here don't know our arrangement--" He'd stopped when he felt the stare of the old lady behind him when he mentioned cops.  
After that he'd been silent, both of them. They'd paid for their ingredients and walked back to "Kythe's" car. It wasn't really his car, just one that Chris and Ruth helped him hotwire. It was an old 2006 Honda, sometimes the brakes squeaked and the black paint was flaking, but it was fine. Kythe could recall one time when Ruth wanted another car, not a fancier one because that would attract attention, but at least one that didn't have lumpy seats. They'd turned down her offer, saying that what they had was enough.  
He'd just popped the trunk when his phone buzzed. That's when he'd heard Chris's call, rushed and choppy. He'd attempted to ask where exactly the kids had gone off to, but Chris hung up after Ruth had shushed him. This put him where he was now, driving around the streets bordering the park looking for two lost-looking teens.  
After tracking over the streets again and coming up empty he'd pulled over and dropped his head onto the steering wheel. "Those two are going to be the death of me." He muttered. Kythe felt his shoulder heating up, Killer's equivalent of placing a hand on his shoulder. We'll find them, after all, they're them. Some sort of sign will pop up. Kythe chuckled. "Like police cars?" He joked. Killer hummed. Maybe. A dark blue light streaked across Kythe's vision when his symbiote spoke, something that was more than comfortable.   
Kythe had synesthesia, it wasn't a horrible or troubling condition, it just simply paired two senses together. In Kythe's case it paired vision and hearing, more so than usual. When someone that was physically close to him, around him at least, Kythe's brain paired their voice with a color. Killer was dark blue, like his goopy skin, while Ruth was green and Chris was orange. The symbiotes themselves also had certain colors to his eyes. Toxin was easy to deal with, Scream, not so much.  
He didn't know how long he stayed there before someone started rapping their knuckles on the window. He lifted his head to see Ruth grinning back at him. Chris stood behind her, pulling on one of her dark curls so it bounced up like a spring. He scowled at the two of them, rolling down the window as the few tendrils of Killer seeped back into his body.   
"Where have you been?" He asked, no doubt adding to their stupid nickname.  
Chris came fully into view and smirked. "Easy there, Ms. Weasly." He chided, face falling slack when Kythe pointed to the seats of the car. He climbed into the shotgun seat next to Kythe while Ruth poked her head in between them from the backseats.   
Once they were settled in, Kythe asked about it. "What symbiote?" He listened closely as the two told him about the rouge symbiote named XXXZZ that had torn into the park, and how this new symbiote had stopped it. Kythe got a bit disappointed when he heard this, wondering why all the best things happened while he was away. He gave an annoyed grunt when Chris shared how Ruth wanted to run off, she always was the first to do that, but he could agree with her reasonings. When they had finished, Kythe had stared at them with a blank look, internally amused by their worried expressions.  
"So," He finally said "You planned on calling me...but you didn't?"   
Ruth and Chris's faces fell into relief, Chris leaning forward to slap Kythe's shoulder. "That's all you've gotta say? Really?" He marveled. "Eddie Freaking Brock is just like us!" Ruth called him a fanboy and the two were back to bickering. Meanwhile, Kythe consulted the sane one of the group inside his mind.   
There are more symbiotes on Earth? He asked.   
It looks like it, but I have no idea who, or how many. I'm not so sure about this idea, Kythe. What if this new symbiote is Riot?   
Kythe had heard a lot about Riot, the leader of the symbiotes that didn't sound all too friendly. Even seeing the alien in a few of Killer's memories made shivers run down Kythe's back. He wasn't allowed to see many of the memories of Riot, same as Killer wasn't allowed to snoop through Kythe's home life, but just the little glimpses were enough to convince him that Symbiote President wasn't someone you wanted around. He shook his head.  
I don't think so, buddy. If it were Riot, I'm almost positive that Scream and Toxin would be out here right now, wailing at us to leave the country. He thought about this for a second. Wait, why don't you just ask Scream and Toxin? I'm pretty sure they'd be able to tell you.  
Killer seemed to think about this for a few seconds. Maybe, but wouldn't they have told us already if it was good? Another good point. The conversation might have gone on longer, if only there hadn't been a pair of fingers snapping in front of his eyes.   
He looked over his shoulder to see that Ruth was donning her patented bitch face, no doubt being ignored by everyone else in the car or annoyed to death by her symbiote. Kythe gave her a wry smile, he knew she was trying her best, which in his opinion was all that mattered. He reached a hand over the headrest of the seat and pulled back her hair, taking one of the random hairbands that she left on the turn signal stalk and tying it into a bun. After multiple years of being around her, he'd learned how to get around her bad moods amongst other things.   
His stomach growled, and without missing a beat Killer informed him that they were hungry. He looked from Chris to Ruth, wondering if they'd managed to save his lunch in their excitement. When he asked out loud, Chris winced, throwing his hands up in surrender. "I grabbed it when we first thought of bolting, I swear, must've dropped it while chasing after Ruth."   
Kythe considered his options. They didn't live far away from the park, but they were a little farther from their home now. Chris, Ruth, and their respective symbiotes had already eaten, and while all four of them could eat forever, he didn't think it warranted a trip to a restaurant. And while money wasn't extremely tight, he did just buy ingredients, so buying another full meal was out of the picture. "You guys down for a liquor store run?" He asked.  
When everyone agreed, he began to drive again, occasionally taking a look at the space around them. The tall brick buildings and neon signs could be found anywhere in the world, so seeing these things didn't make him so homesick for their previous home in Virginia. They weren't naturally from Virginia, not Ruth or Kythe anyway, but Chris had lived farther upstate from their home. After they'd all found each other, they'd decided that they couldn't just live in motels anymore. After a couple of months of planning and many different jobs, they'd bought a small apartment in Sussex.   
It hadn't been their first attempt at a home in the state, but it had been their favorite. They probably never would have left if there hadn't been an accident they referred to as the "Grocery Massacre".   
After driving around for about ten minutes and arguing which was better, popcorn or licorice, Kythe finally found a liquor store that had parking near by. He didn't mind driving, but parking had always annoyed him, and the state of California was not always so kind to its drivers. Once he'd parallel parked, the six of them walked across the street without being hit. Many people walked up and down the sidewalk, all murmuring to their telephones or each other. One lady to their right looked like she was trying to advertise for perfume, which left the area in a fog of the sickly sweet smell. Maneuvering through the crowd, they made it to the front of the shop, Chris and Ruth bolted in, already calling dibs on certain snack items.   
Still at the door, something caught the corner of Kythe's eye, a small bouquet of dying flowers by a stack of newspapers. Killer's eyesight took over for a brief moment, and they were able to read what was written on the tag attached to the flowers; R.I.P Maria. Killer liked to look at everything he possibly could, he thought Earth was interesting. Kythe picked up on some confusion as they entered the store, which seemed just a little odd. Kythe, what does R.I.P stand for?   
Kythe stopped abruptly. He'd been with his symbiote for what, a decade? He found it strange that he hadn't explained or at least talked about what it meant, especially considering their situation. He took his phone out of his pocket and held it up to his ear, hoping the cashier hadn't noticed that it didn't ring. "Have we seriously never talked about this?" He asked while he gave the place a quick once over. The store looked like any other liquor store you would find, refrigerated items in the back as well as decently tall aisles Ruth would be upset she couldn't see over He gave a quick nod to the lady behind the plastic casing and made his way over to the snacks. No. Killer answered.  
"Well then," Kythe said as he picked up a box of crackers. "R.I.P means 'rest in peace', it's a term used to kind of give your last wishes to someone that's died." Killer gave a satisfied hum, which was more than Kythe would have given if someone had given him such a crappy explanation. Tucking the crackers under his arm he peeked his head around one of the aisles trying to find Kythe and Ruth. *  
His eyes widened when he saw two different colored tendrils branching out of their backs and snatching snacks off the wall. It seemed like they didn't notice what was happening, and Kythe debated running over or possibly distracting the cashier until it was over. As if sensing his stare, the symbiotes dropped the snacks and popped back inside their house.   
Kythe rolled his eyes and kept walking. "Wanna go check out the candy? I'm in the mood for Kit-Kats." Killer laughed inside his mind. We are always in the mood for Kit-Kats. The two carried on their telepathic conversation, Kythe keeping his phone up just in case he said something out loud.  
Having collected enough junk food to last them a couple of days, they figured it was time to get going. Ruth and Chris had an armful each of unhealthy junk, which a responsible parent would never let them near, and though he and Killer were close enough, they knew better than to interject when it came to snacks. One of the first rules about having a symbiote is that you have to be flexible with whatever food, or you may loose an organ.   
Do we have everything? He wondered.  
If anything, they will...go to town, as you say. So I'd assume that we have enough just based on the smile I know Scream is giving Ruth. Now that it had been pointed out, Ruth's normally placid and smirk-ish smile was a bit more of a toothy grin than usual. The only other time Kythe had ever seen her make that same expression was when she was taunting her older brother, one of her favorite activities.   
Ruth didn't look how she acted, for one, she looked innocent. Being thirteen, her young features gave her the sort of illusion that she had never witnessed anything worse than a school fist fight, which was diffidently less than the case. She had curly hair that stuck out due to its length, and dark skin that had never been touched by any form of makeup. All in all, she looked like the type of girl you would find smiling like that with a group of friends at a mall.  
Chris decided to pay, or at least try to. He had opened up his wallet and immediately regretted it, interrogating himself on how he had lost so many one dollar bills within the time span of two hours. Kythe half expected Toxin to answer him, but thankfully for all of them, the symbiote knew how to stay silent. "Hey Kythe," Chris asked. "Got a five?"   
Just as he asked that, the door swung open. Five very tough looking men filed through and circled themselves up so nobody could get out. Each of them wore large jackets over several layers of T-shirts and a pair of gloves. Collectively, the group looked like the type of men you'd find just standing outside of bars, waiting for a pretty girl to walk by. Kythe hadn't even noticed that he'd been slowly moving in front of his family.   
One man stepped out from the back of the group, pushing past his collogues. His ratty hair was tied back underneath an old baseball bat, and a thick scar ran clean across his cheek. He had his hands in his pockets, which in this situation was never, ever good. Kythe expected him to say something along the lines of what a robber would say, like 'give us all your money' or something like that, and there would possibly be a fight. Instead, Scar Man slowly turned his head to the right so he was looking past Kythe and the others, looking at the cashier.  
The old woman looked terrified, her eyes widening on the spot at the man's gaze. She took a step back from her counter, slightly turning herself towards her register. "Chen," Scar Man said. "We haven't gotten payment for a couple of months, which is already not good, and Juan was never seen after coming to collect." He, as well as his gooney followers that wouldn't stop eyeing them, took a step forward. He moved his jacket pocket around from the inside, perhaps trying to emphasis the weapon inside. "You wouldn't have had anything to do with that, would you, Chen?"  
Kythe, Killer warned.   
I know bud, I know--we could probably take them, I just don't wanna stick the lady in danger.   
We may have to.   
The cashier raised both hands high in the air, staring at Kythe for a moment with immense fear. Killer was swirling around inside Kythe's chest, itching to come out and assist, Chris and Ruth were possibly having the same situation. Ruth was halfway flinching behind him, he could feel Scream trying to burst out with barley a touch between the two. He gave a quick look back, but it was too late.  
"What do you guys want from her?" Ruth demanded, a few of her words coming out distorted or cracked. She shoved Kythe's hand out of the way. "Isn't it obvious that she's scared shitless of you guys? Why on Earth would she kill someone?" She was getting angrier, a sort of Bruce Banner; Hulk situation. Both Killer and Kythe feared Scream would come out sooner or later, and while that would be helpful in the situation, it was still too early. There were still too many people.   
Scar Man frowned. "What did you say to us, little girl?"   
Chris now took a step forward, edging closer to the cashier in case he needed to protect her. "If you want a translation, she wants you to leave." Toxin was already beginning to snake around his wrist, the men probably didn't notice it, but the deep red of the symbiote was getting as prepared as it could right now. "And frankly, so do we."  
Scar Man pulled a gun, a gun of all things, his men following in suite like they'd rehearsed this. Kythe sighed. "You should have listened to the serious sounding kids guys," he said, and looked over to the cashier. "Ma'am, would you mind looking away?"   
The woman nodded, but her eyes were still wide. She suddenly started chanting something in Mandarin as she attempted to hide, but muttered something in English. "...no more parasites, please, I don't..." and then she was back to Mandarin.   
The tendril around Chris's hand hardened, Ruth stopped twitching awkwardly, and the itching sensation inside his stomach stopped. Rows of teeth peeled in front of his vision and he could see through hazy white, a comforting void of dark blue surrounding him like a blanket. Killer grinned, taking a step forward towards the men. He looked back at his brother and sister, both looking extremely eager. Toxin had his hand hardened into a large red fist, and Scream's long tongue slashed out through her mouth as she dragged her claws on the ground. When the focus was placed back on the men, they looked terrified. "Who's hungry?" Killer asked.   
There was blood on the ground within thirty seconds. Scream had immediately picked one of the men to be her early dinner, making quick work of eating his head. Meanwhile, the rest of the now damned men fired their weapons crazily at the symbiotes, each blast doing absolutely nothing.   
Kythe was glad he had told the cashier to hide away, he figured what was going on would make anybody normal feel immediately uneasy, and more screaming than there was already would be horrible. One of Toxin's tentacles launched itself from his back and wrapped around the waist of a man that was making a beeline for the door. With one quick flick the man was back by the symbiote's side, and a second later, lunch.   
The three symbiotes swatted guns out of hands, slashed out their claws and snapped several bones. Killer was perched over one of the, now dead, men and trying to decide which part of the body he wanted. To him, everything looked appetizing, the head, arms, everything. Kythe always hated this part of the symbiosis, he got to see everything that Killer did. He watched as the symbiote tilted its head back, taking off an arm and shamming it down its throat as fast as it could. Kythe said nothing and continued to let his interstellar friend get his fair share.  
For the situation, everything was peaceful, all until an ear shattering cry pierced through the air. Killer whipped his head around to see Scream ferociously flailing her arms behind her, tentacles that were branched out going wild; searching for something. Both Killer and Toxin rushed over, Toxin melting back into Chris and allowing him to swirl around to Scream's back. Since she felt like it was her namesake, Scream did tend to scream a lot, for no apparent reason other than to do it at most times. However, Killer and Kythe didn't think this was one of her namesake pulls. "What's wrong?" Killer demanded, not sensing anything wrong with the air around them that would make her yell. "Scream, stop it."   
Chris shrugged from behind her. "I don't see anything, what is it?"  
Scream's hands were wildly scratching at her back. "Knife!" She wailed. "Blade! He pushed it too far inside, can't yank it out!" Normally, knives weren't a problem and had no effect on them, they were just plain annoying. But if Scream couldn't find out how far into her body it had gotten and couldn't pull it out, Kythe began to worry what was happening to Ruth inside.   
Killer disappeared, lowering Kythe back to the ground. "Scream," He tried to see where the knife had gone in. "Can you melt back in?" The lady behind the cash register had popped back up with her hands over he ears, staring at the three of them with a look of horror. Kythe ushered Scream behind one of the aisles and tried to crouch her down, when she kept wailing, he asked again. "Scream, can you or can you not melt back into Ruth?"  
The symbiote shook her head. "Don't know if it got to her," She explained. "Wanna get it out before I have to heal her!" They had to get out of there. They could hear the cashier talking hastily, maybe to the police, and Kythe didn't want to think about what would happen when an outside onlooker noticed blood splatters on the floor or unfinished meals of corpses. They'd have to leave, maybe even California if it came to that. Chris looked around the aisle, standing up next to Kythe.   
"Scream, just melt in," Kythe tried. "And if, if it is in Ruth, we'll rip it out and you can heal her. Just please, stop screaming." The smell of blood was strong in the air, the liquor store entrance had to be red, Kythe had no idea why he thought this would be a good idea, he should have just knocked them out, not all the symbiotes had to come out.   
"Kythe..." Chris said.  
"No, Chris, not now."  
"Kythe!"  
"What?" He snapped. He stood up and turned his attention to the direction Chris was looking. A tall, black symbiote stood in the middle of the store, arms crossed over its chest as if it were disappointed by the mess they had made while eating. Kythe was surprised that no one was noticing what was going on, surely people weren't so blind. He didn't get to focus on that feeling for long, a feeling of ice settling in his stomach soon taking over. Killer, what is it? Killer didn't like to take over Kythe's voice, he thought it was rude to his host.   
Suddenly Kythe felt his tongue get heavier, and someone seize control of his voice box. "Venom?" He asked, Killer using his voice to get the message across. Some memories that definitely did not belong to him flashed before his eyes, waves of multiple emotions ran over him, overwhelming anything Kythe himself was feeling.  
The black symbiote, Venom, grinned widly. "I thought I saw your...handiwork, in here," He said. "Turns out I was right." There was a long pause of awkward silence before anybody said anything else. The next voice speak was from inside the symbiote, this one sounding slightly annoyed. "V, explanation please."   
Without answering, the symbiote melted back into its host, leaving a very confused looking man standing in its place; Eddie Brock. Thankfully for Kythe's pride, the man also looked as confused as he felt. And looking around, they both had reason to be. There was blood stains on the floor, but no bodies, snacks littering the ground, but no knocked over shelves. It was like Venom had tried to clean up their mess, but never finished.   
Scream gasped, melting into Ruth quickly. Before she left, she mumbled something about Venom, too inaudible to hear, but just enough to tell she said something. A knife clattered to the floor by Ruth's waist, but she looked untouched--just scared. Chris quickly knelt down to assist her, and whether Toxin had anything to say about this issue, he didn't voice his opinion. Killer kept Kythe completely still, unable to move, even if he could.   
Kythe watched as Eddie came forward, stepping around and over the massive blood stains. He frowned, stopping for no reason before looking over his shoulder. "Mrs. Chen, you okay?" There was a moment of silence, where no one said anything. Kythe's fingers fiddled with the cuff of his jacket nervously while he looked around. Killer was excited, the wave of nostalgia he was receiving through their bond confirmed that, but he himself had no other emotion other than worry. How many people did see them?  
Mrs. Chen answered. She popped up from behind the casing and pointed a finger directly at Mr. Brock, cursing him to high heaven in mandarin. After thoroughly chewing him out, she stormed off through a backdoor behind her, which made Kythe wonder why she hadn't left sooner. Eddie sighed when she left, throwing his hands up in the air before letting them hit his legs again. "I always enjoy our talks!" He called after her, chuckling to himself (or maybe Venom).   
"Uh, Mr. Brock--" Kythe started.  
"Call me Eddie, Mr. Brock makes me sound old."  
"Eddie," He continued. "Not that we don't appreciate your, both of your help, didn't you think having four symbiotes in one place would have been dangerous?" He longed to move his head to the side and check to see if anyone was looking, but Killer still wouldn't allow them to move. Eddie sighed, looking over at Chris and Ruth. He seemed to be considering the best way to phrase his next words. But something about his facial expressions seemed off. He looked like he was about to question something, and it took Kythe a second to remember that he was probably arguing with a symbiote.   
Finally the older man made eye contact with him again. "Yeah, it was dangerous. But don't worry," He grinned. "V and me gave them something to lock their attention on down the street, they haven't seen a thing." As he spoke, he started to do his own cleaning on the ground, picking up loose items that Venom was unable to and placing them on random shelves.   
Chris pulled Ruth to her feet behind Kythe. She didn't look hurt, but hung onto Chris's side--an action she only did when she was scared. Kythe wanted to turn around and make sure she was okay, possibly add onto reasoning for their nickname by checking both of them for injuries. But he still couldn't move, and it wasn't like Killer to do this sort of thing. Eddie placed a box of crackers (maybe Kythe's) on top of the counter and continued to talk.  
"Venom has an idea, and trust me, it'll sound weird coming out of my mouth." He assured. "He says that he knows you guys, your symbiotes anyway, and that he needs us to move this little get together to a more private place. Normally I'd ask this a little more awkwardly, but he's kind of getting annoyed to the point where I don't really care how I put it. He's asking you guys to come to our apartment, less people to hurt or terrorize there."   
Kythe had to think about this. He didn't exactly distrust Eddie, and he wasn't scared or worried about the location change. What concerned him were the onlookers, Eddie's neighbors, surely someone would think it was weird that he was coming back with three teens. He looked over at Chris and Ruth again. Ruth was looking at him like she was waiting for an answer, meanwhile, Chris's brain had just registered that one of his idols was standing less than fifteen feet away from him, and he couldn't seem to close his mouth. "I warned you that it sounded awful." Eddie said.  
Before he could react, a sentence that was his own this time poured out of his mouth. "Killer seems to think it's a good idea and we're all too done to argue." He confessed. "How long's the drive?"


End file.
